Refrigerating apparatus



April 9, 1940. b. H. REEVES REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 19374 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Don/0L9 6. PEA-v5.5.

April 9, 1940. n. H. REEVES I REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6,19:57 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Don/440 6 Wart ts, @m 544.... 4 3-6l/IS ATTORNEYS April 9, 1940. REEVES 2,196,476

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jun; 6. Pt:was.

ws ATTORNEYS.

pr l 9, 1940. D. H. REEVES 2,196,476

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.DEA 44v 6. P4: (5:,

bl-S ATTORNEY',

Patented Apr. 9, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,196,476 REFRIGERATING APPARATUSDonald H. Reeves, Dayton, Ohio,

eral Motors Corporation, Dayton,

I poration of Delaware assignor to Gen- Ohio, a cor- Application March6, 1937, Serial No. 129,443

9 Claims.

This invention relates to freezing apparatus for liquids such as icetrays employed in mechanically refrigerated household refrigeratorcabinets.

This invention relates more particularly to an ice tray and gridstructure therefor of the general type disclosed in my copendingapplication Serial No. 98,213 filed August 27, 1936, and it is an objectof the present invention to provide an improved grid structurepossessing characteristics similar to those of the structure disclosedin my copending application but which is of increased structuralstrength, more efficient in operation, of simplified construction andconsequently capable of being manufactured at reduced cost.

' In carrying out the features of the foregoing object in the productionof a metallic grid strucof Fig. 2 showing the locking arrangement of theture for an ice tray from which ice blocks can be mechanically removedwithout applying artificial heat to the structure, it is another objectof my invention to provide an ice tray grid construction which willpermit substantially the entire interior of the tray to be utilized forreceiving substances to be frozen.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved ice tray gridstructure which has movable transverse walls extending parallel to oneanother and normally. disposed at a predetermined angle relative to aline extended perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension of thestructure that are progressively rotatable out of their angleddisposition for enlarging the ice compartments to cause ice blocks to bereleased therefrom.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a metallic gridstructure having longitudinal dividing members disposed one above theother in substantially the same vertical plane and a plurality oftransverse members all of which members are movable relative to oneanother for breaking the bond between the members and ice formed in thestructure to release ice blocks therefrom.

Still further and more specific objects and advantages reside in detailsof construction of my improved grid structure and in novel combinationsand arrangements of parts thereof as will more fully appear in thecourse of the followingdescription:

In the drawings: v Fig. l is a top plan view of an ice tray having agrid positioned theren and constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device shown in Fig. 1 and is taken on the'line 2-2 thereof;

v of Fig. 2 showing the Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing thegrid together with ice blocks frozen therein and adhering theretoelevated relative to the tray;

Fig. 4 is a view disclosing the grid and ice blocks adhering. theretoremoved from the .tray and showing certain walls of the grid structuremoved relative to other walls thereof for releasing ice blockstherefrom;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the position of walls of thegrid structure after having been moved to release all ice blockstherefrom;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 locking arrangement ofthe grid. transverse walls between the movable portions of thelongitudinal wall;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 movable portions ofthe longitudinal grid wall within the end transverse wall thereof;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the grid walls showing theirassociation during assembly thereof to construct the unitary structure;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view. taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 showing oneposition of the longitudinal members within the end transverse memberduring assembly of the grid structure;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 9 showing another positionof the longitudinal members within the end transverse member duringassembly of the grid structure; I

Fig. 11 is a sectional view similar to Figs. 9 and 10 showing a furtherposition of the longitudinal members within the ing assembly of the gridstructure;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary top plan view of an end of a modified gridstructure; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional view of the modified grid structure taken on theline l3-l3 of Fig. 12.

Referring to the drawings, for the purpose of illustrating my invention,I have disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7 a metal ice tray I0 having side walls II (see Figs. 6 and '7), a bottom wall l2 and opposed end walls l3 and M.The tray side walls II and the front. end wall l3 thereof convergeoutwardly toward the top of the tray. The tray back wall It is convergedoutwardly toward the top of the tray a greater distance than other wallsthereof for a purpose which will become apparent hereinafter. The wallsll, their upper edge rolled over to form a rim l5 which extendscontinuously around the top of the tray. A portion of the metal tray I0is extended downwardly from rim I5, as at [6, at the front endtransverse member du'r- I3 and i4 of'tray II) have end thereof andprovides a mounting fora metal 56 .*thereto.

ing system and a cam surface l9 formed thereon functions, upon actuatinghandle I8, to break an ice bond between the tray and its support topermit removal of the tray and its frozen contents ;from the coolingelement as is well known in the art.

A unitary metallic grid structure, generally represented by thereference character 20, is removablydisposed within tray l0 and dividesthe interior of the tray into a plurality of rows of open-top molds,cells or compartments 2|. The grid structure 26 includes two sectionswhich are movable relative to one another and which are in the form oflongitudinal dividing members 22 and 23 disposed one above the other insubstantially the same vertical plane. By disposing the members 22 and23 one above the other respectively they form complementary portions ofa longitudinal wall of single thickness which wall is common to aplurality of the ice block compartments 2|. Member 22 is provided with aplurality of spaced apart slots or notches 24 extending upwardly fromits bottom edge 25. These slots or notches 24 include side walls 26 and21' cut at opposed angles to one another and a top horizontal wall 28.Member 23 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart slots or notches29 extending downwardly from its top edge 3 I. The slots or notches 29include side walls 32 and 33 cut at "opposed angles to one, another anda bottom horizontal wall 34. A slot 35 disposed at an angle but havingsubstantially parallel side Walls extends downwardly from the top edge36 of member 22 near the end thereof positioned toward the front wall I3of tray It). A slot 31 having walls similar in configuration to thewalls of slots 29 extends upwardly from the bottom edge 38 of member 23.It is to be noted that a portion of the bottom edge 25 of longitudinalmember 22 is tapered upwardly from the point 39 below slot 35 to the endofv member 22, as indicated at 46, for a purpose to be hereinafterdescribed. The slots or notches 24 in member 22 and slots or notches 29in member 23 register with one another and receive a web portion 4| ofmembers 42 provided-between a pair of notches or slots 43 and 44 cuttherein (see Fig.

6) and which members extend transversely to the longitudinal members.Thus the transverse members 42 extend and are locked between the twolongitudinal members 22 and 23 forming the single longitudinal wall ofthegrid. Slot or notch 35 in longitudinal member 22 and slot 31 inlongitudinal member 23 cooperate to'receive another transverse member45. The longitudinal. members 22 and'23 pass through an opening 46provided in transverse member 45 and are movably locked relative to oneanother in this end transverse member in a manner which will be morefully described hereinafter. By referring again to Fig. 2 of thedrawings it will be noted that the walls 26 of slots 24 and walls 33 ofslots 29 are disposed in slightly spaced .apart parallel planes. Theseslots 24 and 29 cooperate with one another to cause the walls 26 ofslots 24 to abut the upper part of one side of the web portion 4| oftransverse members 42 and to cause the walls 33 of slots 29 to abut thelower part of the opposite at an angle to a line extendedperpendicularly to the longitudinal extension of grid structure 20 or tothe bottom wall |2 of tray Ill. The slots 35 and 31 provided in members22 and 23 respectively are also shaped and arranged to cooperate inmaintaining the one transverse member 45 at a predetermined angleparallel to the other transverse members 42. This normal angleddisposition of transverse members 42 is for a purpose to be hereinaftermore fully described. -The end, opposite the end tapered as at 46, oflongitudinal member 22 is bent outwardly as at 41 out of the plane of anupwardly directed extension 48 provided on longitudinalmember 23 andoverlaps this extension 48.

A lever 5|, having a short extending end portion 52 and a relativelylong handle end portion 53, is provided with a pair of legs 54 and 55which straddle the bent end portionv 41 of longitudinal member 22 andthe upwardly extended portion 48 on longitudinal member 23. A pin 51secured to the one leg 54 of lever 5| and passing through a suitableopening provided in extension 48 pivotally attaches the lever 5| tolongitudinal member-23. A second pin 58 is secured to the other leg 55of lever 5| and passes through a suitable opening provided in endportion 41 pivotally attaches the lever 5| to the longitudinal member22. The pin 58 is located below pin 51 and the spaced apart pivotingcenters of these pins form a toggle connection which serves to maintainthe lever 5| in its lowered or normal non-operative position as shown inFigs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The toggle connection thereby preventsaccidental raising of levers 5| into a position where it will interferewith removal of the tray from the cooling element. Thus it will be seenthat in addition to the ends of longitudinal members 22 and 23 disposedat the front of tray l0 being movably locked together by cross member 45the opposite ends thereof are also movably locked together by .the pins51 and 58 and lever 5| to provide a unitary grid structure.

It is tobe noted that the walls 26 of slots or notches 24 are equallyspaced apart along the member 22 while the walls 21 thereof areprogressively spaced a greater distance from the walls 26 from the leverend to the opposite end of the grid structure to thus providesuccessively wider slots or notches toward the end of the grid disposedat the front of tray ID. The slots or notches 29 are spaced an equaldistance from one another and the walls 32 and 33 thereof are alsouniformly spaced apart. Therefore upon moving the longitudinal member 22lengthwise of longimembers 42 progressively from the lever end to a theother end of the grid structure.

By referring now to Figs.- 7 to 11 inclusive of the drawings I willdescribe the method of assem.- bling the wall parts of the grid togetherto provide the unitary structure. It is to be noted that the opening 46in the one end transverse member 45 includes a vertically elongatedportion 6| and a shorter wide portion 62 which has its top converginginto the elongated portion 6| by an angled wall 63. In assembling theparts of the grid structure 20 the one end of longitudinal member 22 isfirst inserted into the opening 46 and is moved through the openinguntil the slot or notch 35 provided therein aligns or registers with theopening 46. By virtue of the slot 35 longitudinal member 22 can then bemoved over into the wide portion 62 of opening 46 as shown elongatedportion longitudinal member in Fig; 9 of the drawings thus leaving theelongated portion 2| of opening 46 open for the reis lowered, by virtueof notch 31, within the elongated portion 6| of opening 46 so that itsbottom edge 36 aligns with the bottom edge of transverse member 45 asshown in Fig. 10. This downward movement of longitudinal member 23leaves the upper part of elongated portion 6| of opening 46 free toreceive the web portion below notch 35 of longitudinal member'22.Therefore member 22 may now be turned, by virtue of the angled wallportion 63 of opening 46, and raised so that the web part thereof belownotch 35 attains the tilted elevated position within portions 6| and 62of opening 46 as shown in Fig. 11. The opposite ends of the longitudinalmembers 22 and 23 are then moved away from one another into a positionresembling that shown in Fig. 8 and the transverse members 42 may beplaced between the longitudinal members with their bot-' tom notches orslots 44 straddling the web portions of member 23 below the notches 29provided therein. After all the transverse members 42 have been placedin'straddling position upon 23 the spaced apart opposite ends of themembers 22 and 23 are brought together with the notches 24 in member 22registering with the notches 43 provided in the upper part of transversemembers 42. Thereafter longitudinal member 22 is moved upwardly into the6| of opening 46 from the position shown in Fig. 8 to the position shownin Fig. 7 of the drawings. The longitudinal members are thus positionedone above the other within the portion 6| of opening 46 in substantiallythe same vertical plane. The walls bounding the portion 6| of opening 46are arranged to maintain the longitudinal members 22 and 23 in verticalalignment as long as the lever ends of these members are retained inclose together relationship. The brought together lever ends of thelongitudinal members 22 and 23 are now ready to be movably secured toone another. Lever 5| is therefore placed over the lever ends of members22 and 23 with the holes therein regholes provided for pins 51 and 41and 46 of the longitudinal members. Pins 51 and 58 are driven into theirrespective openings provided in the legs 54 and 55 of lever 5| andproject into the openings provided therefor in members 22 and 23. Lever5| is thereby secured to longitudinal member 22 member 23 by the pins 51and 58 to thus complete the assembly to form the unitary'gridconstruction 26. The dividing walls 22, 23, 42 and 45 of the unitarygrid structure 26 are constructed preferably of sheet aluminum to affordgood heat conductivity and fast freezing of the contents of the metaltray l6. The metallic dividing elements 22, 23, 42 and 45 of isteringwith the 58 in the portions the grid structure may be impregnated andcoathandle H! has been manipulated to remove the tray from the elementand it is now desirable to remove the ice blocks 65 from the unitarygrid structure 26. The handle end 53 of lever 5| is therefore elevatedto pivot the lever 5| about pin 51 and to cause the short end portion 52of the lever to engage the rim l5 of tray I6 and exert a force againstthe tray. tray l6 causes the unitary grid structure 26, together withthe ice blocks 65 adhering thereto, to be elevated relative to the tray.This initial movement of lever 5| overcomes the force afforded by thetoggle connection, formed by the normal disposition of pivot pin 51below pin 56, and causes pin 58 secured to the upper longitudinal member22 to rotate about pin 51. Rotation of pin 58 about pin 51, during theinitial movement of lever 5| described, applies force between thelongitudinal members 22 and 23 and elevates member 22 relative to member23 (see Fig. 3) during elevation of the structure 26 and ice blocks 65adhering thereto relative to the tray. The tapered edge surface 46provided-on longitudinal member 22 permits movement of the opposite endof member 22 downwardly relative to member 23 and this longitudinalmember 22 fulcrums upon the edge 3| of member 23 at the juncture 39 ofthe tapered edge 46 with the straight flat bottom edge 25. Furthermovement of lever 5| about its pivot 51 continues to elevate thelongitudinal member 22 and also slides member 22 lengthwise oflongitudinal member. 23 toward the lever end of the structure by virtueof rotating pin 58 secured to member 22 about pin 51 (see Fig. 4). Theinitial sliding movement of member 22 relative to member 23 moves theside wall 26 of the slot 24, nearest the lever end of the structure,away from the first transverse member 42 and causes the opposite sidewall 21 of slot 24 to engage the web portion 4| of transverse member 42and move this first member 42 out of its normal predetermined angle ofdisposition. The transverse member 42 pivots about the bottom wall 34 ofslot 29 provided in mem-- ber 23 and about the lower portion of the iceblock. 65 and may also be moved upwardly relative to member 23 due tothe now elevated position of longitudinal member 22. It will be seenthat substantially a rotary motion is imparted to the transverse members42 to thereby substantially peel the first two ice blocks 65 away fromthe first transverse member and to break the blocks loose from the lowerlongitudinal member to 1 which they have adhered during movement of theThis force applied to' end of the structure 26 the side walls 21 thereofwill be progressively brought into engagement with the webs 4| oftransverse members 42.

' Therefore the transverse members are moved out .of their predeterminedangled position progressively from one end to the other end of the gridstructure to thereby release all ice blocks 65 therefrom. The slots 35and 31 are of such size and configuration as to insure that thetransverse member 45 will be moved last to provide progressive releasingof the ice blocks 65 which occurs in moving the lever 5|, through itssingle direcnormal position This thereby increases the size,

of the compartments 2| to enlarge same relative to the ice blocks 65 andwhen the ice blocks are tilted by movement of succeeding transversemembers, their dimension, taken on a line perpendicularto the parallelsides thereof which normally abut the transverse members, will be lessthan the distance between the transverse members to thus permit iceblocks to'freely fall from the enlarged compartments. Therefore it willbe seen that the normal angled disposition of the transverse members hasa definite purpose in the function of the improved grid structure.

In Figs. 12 and 13 of the drawings I have dis' closed a modifiedgrid-structure having all the characteristics of and operated insubstantially the same manner as the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 11inclusive but which modified structure is of slightly differentconstruction. Referring to Fig. 13 it will be noted that the bottom edgea and the top edge 31a of the longitudinal members 220, and 23arespectively are cut on angles to a line extending parallel with thelonitudinal extension of the structure 20a to .form somewhat of a zigzagstructure. In Fig. 12 it will be seen that the ends of the twolongitudinal members 22a and 23a disposed toward the. front of the trayare locked together in movable relation to one another by a pin 51secured to member 23a. Pin 61 passes through elongated slot 68 providedin member 22a (see Fig. 13) which slot permits lengthwise movement ofmember 22a relative to member 23a for the same purpose describedrelative to the grid structure 20. The

structure 20a instead of employing the slightly difierent cut transversemember 45 as in the structure 20.

From the foregoing it wilLbe seen that I have provided an improved icetray grid' structure which is of low cost, strong and durable, capableof being operated with a minimum of force and effective to remove iceblocks therefrom without unduly shattering the blocks and which deviceis constructed entirely of metal to thereby retain the fast freezingcharacteristics of metal tray and grid combinations. The improved gridstructure is of the single wall type and the struc ture is devoid oflarge operating shafts or other such members which ordinarily reduce thecubical capacity of the tray or which project a substantial distanceabove the top of the tray to occupy valuable space in the compartmentadapted to receive the tray. By employing portions of the ice blockcompartment forming walls for moving certain of the walls or partsthereof relative to one another in my improved construetion the entireinterior of the tray may be utilized for storage of the liquid or othersubstance to be frozen without jeopardizing the operation of movingparts of the grid structure. By constructing a grid structure so thatthe ice blocks are progressively released therefrom a minimum of forcereleases all ice blocks therefrom to thus overcome objections to priordevices wherein ut most effort is required to release ice blocks. In thepresent device I have provided a single lever which is operable, in thesame direction of motion, to remove the unitary grid together with "iceblocks adhering thereto from the trayand to release ice blocks from thegrid structure.

While the forms of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed,constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other formsmightbe adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In liquid congealing apparatus, 'the'combination of an ice pan, agrid member removably disposed therein for dividing the ice pan into aplurality of ice cube forming cells, said grid member comprising acentral longitudinal wall member formed of two superposed parts both ofwhich divide the ice pan longitudinally thereof and one of which ismovable lengthwise relative to the other and a plurality of transversewall members movably attached to said longi-- tudinal wall member, eachof said transverse wall members being provided with vertically-extendingslots in the top and bottom thereof to the longitudinal wall memberswhen one ofsaid longitudinal wall members ,is moved lengthwise relativeto the other, after the grid member has been at least partially removedfrom the ice pan.

2. A removable unitary grid structure for disposition in an ice traycomprising, a longitudinal wall member formed of two superimposed partsone of which is movable relative to the other and a plurality of spacedapart transverse wall members movably connected to said longitudinalwall member to provide a plurality of ice block compartments, each ofsaid transverse wall members being provided with vertically extendingslots in the top and bottom thereof for receiving said longitudinal wallmember parts,

said slots beingof suificient width that the longitudinal wall parts maymove freely therein, said top longitudinal wall part being provided witha series of vertical slots in the bottom thereof and said bottomlongitudinal wall part being provided with a series of vertical slots inthe top thereof, the slots in said longitudinal wall parts receivingsaid transverse wall members and being of sufiicient width to permitmovement of said transverse wall members in a direction lengthwise ofsaid longitudinal wall 'member when one of said longitudinal wall partsis moved lengthwise relative to the other to break the bond between iceblocks and their compartment walls.

3. A structure in accordance with claim 2 rality 0! wherein a lever isconnected to one o! the' parts of the longitudinal wall member andengages the other part thereof for moving the parts relative to oneanother.

4. A structure in accor ance with claim 2 wherein the transverse wallmembers are nor-- mally disposed in an inclined position and are movabletoward the vertical to enlarge the ice block compartments.

5'. A structure in accordance with claim 2 wherein the vertical slots inthe movable longitudinal wall part are of increased width relative toone another and toward one end of the grid structure-for causing themovable'longitudinal wall part to sequentially "engage the plurality oftransverse wall members and progressively move same.

6. A removable unitary grid structure for disposition ln an ice traycomprising, a longitudinal wall member formed of two superimposedsubstantially non-flexible metal parts one of which is movablelengthwise relative to the other and a plurality of. spaced apartsubstantially nonflexible metal transverse wall members mova-' blyconnected to said longitudinal wall member to provide a plurality of iceblock compartments, each of said transverse wall members being providedwith vertically extending slots in the top and bottom thereof forreceiving said longitudinal wall member .parts, said slots being ofsufficient width that the longitudinal wall parts may move freelytherein, said top part being provided with a series of vertical.

longtudinal wall slots in the bottom thereof and said bottomlongitudinal wall part being provided with a seslots in'the top thereof,the slots parts receiving said being of greater ries of vertical in saidlongitudinal wall transverse wall members and width at their open endthan at their closed end to permit angular movement of said-transversewall members therein relative to the longitudinal wall parts when oneofsaid' longitudinal wall parts is moved lengthwise relative to theother, and the vertical slots in one of said longitudinal wall'partsbeing of increased width relative to one another and toward one end orthe grid structure for causing the movable longitudinal wall part to'sequentially engage and move the plunection of certain of other part ofsaid longitudinal transverse wall members to progressively break thebond between ice blocks and their compartment walls. I

7. A structure in accordance with claim 6 wherein a lever is connectedtoone of the parts of the longitudinal wall member and engages the otherpart thereof for moving the parts lengthwise of one another.

8. A structure in accordance with claim 6 wherein the slots in thelongitudinal wall member parts cooperate to normally maintain thetransverse wall members in an inclined position and the walls thereofupon engaging the transverse wall members move same toward the ver-.

tical to enlarge the ice block compartments.

9. A removable unitary grid structure for disposition in an ice traycomprising, a longitudinal partitioning member formed oi. twosuperimposed parts one of which is movable relative to the other and aplurality of spaced apart transverse partitions movably connected tosaid longitudinal partitioning member to form walls of a plurality ofice block compartments, the consaid transverse partitions with saidlongitudinal partioning member permitting elevation of at least aportion of one part 'of said longitudinal partitioning member andlengthwise movement thereof relative to the partitioning member formoving said transverse partitions in t a direction lengthwise of thegrid structure to break the bond between ice 'blocks and theircompartment walls, means normally securing said parts of saidlongitudinal partitioning member together at one end of the gridstructure, the connection of one of said transverse partitions with theparts of said longitudinal partitioning member adjacent the opposite endof the structure being constructed and arranged to movably lock said twoparts of said longitudinal partitioning member together at said oppositeend of the grid structural and said means including means for applying.force between the parts of said longitudinal'partitioning member tocause said movement of the. ice'biock compartment walls. DONALD E.

